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In China, Unlikely Labor Leader Just Wanted a Middle-Class Life
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David Barboza tells the story of Tan Guocheng in a continuation of exceptional journalism following workers like Yuan Yangdong on a production line at Foxconn and now Guocheng on a production line at Honda. Young migrant workers caught up in the first wave of urbanization in China and in the middle of sweeping change. Guocheng stops a production line and leads a strike at a Honda plant in China which is followed by Honda increasing wages by 32%.
Migrant worker Tan Guocheng and the strike at Honda Motor for higher wages
02/03/2009
A $7 pay raise at Honda was the last straw for Tan when he called on other workers to stop the production line and go on strike in May 2013. His parents own a small plot of land which makes about $2500 a month, too small for his brother, him and his sister. He studied at a vocational school in Changsha, Hunan province, and a employment agency put him in his job at Honda. His wages were about $175 a month, much smaller than other workers hired directly by Honda because the agency received some of his earnings. Following the strike Honda raised wages by 32%. Here David Barboza describes the experience and hopes of Tan Guocheng for a middle class life with decent wages.
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In China, Unlikely Labor Leader Just Wanted a Middle-Class Life
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Wall Street Journal 05/29/2010
In China, Unlikely Labor Leader Just Wanted a Middle-Class Life
New York Times 06/13/2010
Changes in China's factories in 2010-2013. Changing manufacturing.
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Conditions at Hon Hai and a strike at Honda are part of a changing picture of worker dissatisfaction with wages and discipline at Chinese factories. The period of low prices and worker discipline of the kind that prevailed for several decades of industrialization appears to be closing. The Chinese government is also having second thoughts as America and Europe are no longer the growing markets they used to be, and as it weighs a policy shift to domestic consumption.
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China Manufacturers Survive by Moving to Asian Neighbors
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China Factories Try Karaoke, Speed Dating to Keep Workers
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Strains Show in China's Job Market
Wall Street Journal 06/11/2013
Wall Street Journal 12/21/2011
Unrest May Signal New Phase in China Economy
New York Times 05/29/2010
Barboza's profile of Yuan Yandong, a worker at a Foxconn factory in China- changing working conditions and aspirations of China's young migrant workers in 2010-2014
02/03/2009
Grouped Articles
A Night at the Electronics Factory
New York Times 06/18/2010
Lixin Fan, Trailing Chinese Migrant Workers
New York Times 08/27/2010
Foxconn: How to Beat the High Cost of Happy Workers
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Why Apple and Others Are Nervous About Foxconn
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The Demanding Off-Hour Escapes of Chinaâs High-Tech Workers
New York Times 07/16/2013
Unrest May Signal New Phase in China Economy
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Workers shunning factory jobs in China because of unstable living environment and difficulties in raising a family
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Grouped Articles
China: A Billion Strong but Short on Workers
Wall Street Journal 05/02/2013
China Manufacturers Survive by Moving to Asian Neighbors
Wall Street Journal 05/02/2013
China Factories Try Karaoke, Speed Dating to Keep Workers
Wall Street Journal 05/03/2013
Hon Hai to Add Robotics in China
Wall Street Journal 08/03/2011
Strains Show in China's Job Market
Wall Street Journal 06/11/2013
The Demanding Off-Hour Escapes of Chinaâs High-Tech Workers
New York Times 07/16/2013
China's manufacturers moving work overseas because of labor shortages and higher wages- 2013-2014
05/29/2010
China's manufacturers are moving factories overseas because of labor shortages.
Grouped Articles
China Manufacturers Survive by Moving to Asian Neighbors
Wall Street Journal 05/02/2013
China Factories Try Karaoke, Speed Dating to Keep Workers
Wall Street Journal 05/03/2013
Hon Hai to Add Robotics in China
Wall Street Journal 08/03/2011
Wall Street Journal 05/23/2013
Unrest May Signal New Phase in China Economy
New York Times 05/29/2010
Wall Street Journal 05/29/2010
Tan Guocheng and Yuan Yandong- migrant workers on production lines in China and change in 2010-2013
06/13/2010
David Barboza's exceptional journalism talking to production workers on assembly lines in China. Here he tells the story of Tan Guocheng and Yuan Yandong, young migrant workers on assembly lines at Honda and Foxconn in the middle of major changes in China after the first wave of urbanization.
Linked Articles
In China, Unlikely Labor Leader Just Wanted a Middle-Class Life
New York Times 06/13/2010
A Night at the Electronics Factory
New York Times 06/18/2010
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